I'm the CEO of TiqIQ.com, which is the leading ticket search engine online. I started my professional career as a writer covering New York technology in 1996. I've been fascinated by the ticket market from a young age and remember trying to understand what drove the market in front of Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. After working in eCommerce for much of my career, I decided to start a company dedicated to tracking those prices with the benefit of technology and helping consumers get the best possible deals.

Coachella Tickets Once Again The Most Expensive of Major North American Music Festivals

(UPDATE) The lineup for Coachella 2015 has been announced. AC/DC, Drake and Jack White are set to headline. Check out the TiqIQ blog for more information.

…

Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza are big ticket events in the world of music each and every year. With diverse lineups consisting of the biggest names in music past, present, and future, these festivals have become major draws for fans who want to see a handful of their favorite acts perform without having to attend individual shows. For the third consecutive year however, it appears that Coachella will reign supreme as the most expensive of the three major music festivals.

Coachella is always the first of the three events on the calendar, taking place on the second and third weekends of April. Held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, Coachella has been held every year since 2001 and is the most profitable music festival in the United States. Typically, the first week of Coachella prices a bit above the second week, and that is no different for this year. Currently, week one three day passes carry an average price of $933.31, while week two are $763.99. Week two has a slightly higher quantity of Coachella tickets available on the secondary market, with 1,670 to week one’s 1,386. This year’s secondary market prices have shown an increase over the past two years, with week one averaging $552.88 last year, and 680.57 in 2012, while week two has priced at 425.21 and 551.34. Coachella is the only one out of the three major festivals to have already announced its lineup, which will consist of Outkast headlining day one, followed by Muse and Arcade Fire on days two and three. Other top billed artists include The Replacements, Broken Bells, Queens of the Stone Age, Skrillex, Pharrell, Lorde, and Ellie Goulding.

Next on the calendar is Bonnaroo. Held annually at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tennessee every year since 2002, Bonnaroo typically takes place in the middle of June. Last year’s festival set a new attendance record with over 150,000 estimated attendees, smashing the record of 100,000 which was set the prior year. This year, Bonnaroo runs from June 12-15, and four day passes are currently listed at an average price of $429.93 on the secondary market. This marks the third consecutive year of increasing secondary market prices for the Bonnaroo tickets, up from $326.35 last year and $256.86 in 2011. While this year’s lineup has not yet been released, the official Bonnaroo website says that it will be released shortly. Last year’s top billed acts included Paul McCartney, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bjork, Wilco, R Kelly, and Wu Tang Clan

The last of the three major festivals is Lollapalooza. Originally conceived in 1991 as a touring festival by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, Lollapalooza has been in its current form as a destination festival at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois since 2005. The festival is held during the first weekend of August, and this year’s will run from August 1-3. While the lineup for this year’s festival has not yet been announced, secondary market Lollapalooza tickets are currently up from the past two years and have an average of $562. This marks a sharp increase from last year’s price of 283.05, which was down substantially from 2012’s average secondary market ticket price of 499.03. Last year’s festival hosted more than 160,000 attendees over the three-day period, and featured performances by The Cure, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Nine Inch Nails, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, and The National.

While primary market tickets have not yet gone on sale for Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza there are a limited number of seats available on the secondary market. Coachella tickets went on sale at a face price of $375 and sold out for both weekends in less than three hours. Fans who missed out on Coachella and would like to get their hands on Bonnaroo and/or Lollapalooza tickets are advised to be quick to the draw once they go on sale.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.